As we all watch the Olympic athletes take their talent to the worldwide stage less than two months from now at the 2008 Summer Games, graphic design aficionados will be watching another kind of talent on display: the posters. Throughout the history of the games, the posters have provided a unique visual record, evoking everything from time, geography, style and sometime politics.

"A Century of Olympic Posters", published this month from Abrams, traces the evolution of the poster from the first official one for Stockholm in 1912 until the present. The range of styles is as fascinating as the historical context and the evolution of graphic design itself. Sixties Op-Art is perfectly reflected in Mexico's poster in 1968. And, Tokyo's stark minimalist take on the 1964 games reflects a timelessness that still looks incredibly modern today.